This invention relates to improvements in spout assemblies which are usable in connection with a feeder mechanism to feed gobs of molten glass to a glass forming machine.
In the process of making glass articles, the solid components of the glass batch are melted in a furnace and then passed through a forehearth which may consist of a rear or cooling section with means for both heating and cooling and a front section called the conditioning or equalizing section and which usually has means for heating only. At the end of the forehearth, there is usually a spout and feeder mechanism which together cooperate to form the molten glass into gobs for delivery to the glass forming machine.
The forehearth along with the spout and feeder mechanism function to take the glass from a melting furnace at whatever temperature is best for glass making and to deliver it to the forming machine as a uniformly consistent gob having the desired weight, shape and temperature and at a speed suited to the article being fabricated. The spout itself usually contains heating elements, either gas or electric, to maintain the glass at the proper temperature.